By: Pat Alexander / Art of EntertainingI’m sure it comes as no surprise that I loveChristmas. It seems if there’s a holiday, I finda way to embrace and celebrate it.So, let me tell you about the year I nudged my family, sisters,brothers-in-law, nieces and nephews to have a Christmas celebrationin the snow. We rented a huge cabin in Big Bear, California that had aslew of bedrooms.But even so, my niece and her beau still wound up sleeping on thefloor of the kitchen (mostly because it was the warmest room in thehouse). We ate, we drank, we cooked (Italian background, remember)played games, squabbled, laughed, and generally just had a wonderfultime together.On Christmas Eve, at midnight, just after the wished-for snow fall,we decided to take a walk. It was one of those glorious nights when thestars lit up the sky with no city lights to dim their beauty.As we walked through the frosty night, we sang Christmas carols,all off-key, but, really, we didn’t care because our singing voices areuniformly bad. It’s a family thing.What I remember most is the closeness we felt. We were together as afamily and the common bond was our love for each other.We’re scattered now, from one coast to another, and we’ve not hadanother Christmas all together since then. But when I hear theirvoices in our Christmas Day calls, I have the memory of a wonderful26Cooking & Sweets & Treats, Oh MyRebeccaBy: Renee Riendeau / Movie RevelationsNetflix offers a lush cinematography oflocations and costumes as it presentsdirector Ben Wheatley’s adaptation of Daphne duMaurier’s novel, “Rebecca.”In 1938 it was a best seller, and it was eighty years ago that AlfredHitchcock won an Oscar for his rendition of “Rebecca”, a popularBritish, romantic, thriller. As one film critic said, “This version isravishing to behold!”The female archetypes were perfectly cast, and the men paledby comparison. Armie Hammer is the archetype of a prince - tall,charming, fairytale-like, Maxim De Winter.Lily James as Mrs. De Winter, Kristin Scott Thomas, the housekeeper,Keely Hawes, as Beatrice, Maxim’s sister.The main scene is the imposing, castle-like family estate on awindswept English coast. A young newlywed arrives at her husband’sfamily home only to find herself battling the shadow of his first wife,Rebecca, whose legacy lives on in the house after her death.She must contend with his sinister housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers and thesnobbish servants who make her life miserable and refer to her as “thegirl.” Evidently Rebecca was charming, sophisticated, and untouchablein everything she did.The new Mrs. De Winter was penniless, yet inquisitive, plucky andproactive. Everyone around her seems obsessed with the previous wife,December 2020Christmas when we were all together and I remember that I am blessedwith a fun, caring family held together by love.We suffered sugar overload from the dozens of homemade cookiesand sweet treats we brought with us that year because, what’s Christmaswithout cookies? I’d like to share one of my favorite recipes for you totry. I think you’ll enjoy it.PAT’S SNO-BALLS - 350 Degree OvenCream 1 cup softened butter, ¼ cup Confectioners Sugar, pinch ofsalt and 2 tsp. vanilla. Mix in 2 cups flour and 1 cup finely choppedwalnuts. Roll into a ball, wrap in Saran, chill overnight. Roll into 1”balls, space 1” apart on greased cookie sheet, bake 20 minutes.Toss in Confectioners sugar while still warm, then again when cool.Pat Alexander writes about all things home. She is well known forher cooking, parties and interior design, and consults on kitchenand bath remodels.Rebecca.She was tormented by all the family secrets, and Maxim was negligentin protecting her from the servants. However, when she learns the truthabout Rebecca and that Maxim really didn’t love Rebecca, she takescharge of her new life, becomes the wife he really loves and grows intofull womanhood.I’ve thought a lot about this film and still haven’t decided how to rateit; somewhere between 3 and 4 in my movie realm scale. It’s definitelyworth seeing and or reading the novel, “Rebecca”, at your leisure.Renee Riendeau is the movie critic for “Renee’s Revelations”on Anthem Alive SCA-TV. As a dog sitter she operates “ Renee’sRoommates” out of her home and can be reached atrriendeau@aol.com.
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